About Brian Bose

I am Brian Bose.
23 years young.
Nigerian, Belizean, Guatemalan, Jamaican, and Indian American.
Actor, Dancer, Singer, Performing Artist, Choreographer/Director, International Teaching Artist.
University of California, San Diego.
Theatre & Dance.
I believe I was put on this earth to move, to be moved, and to move others.

The struggle is real when it comes to loving yourself
It’s a practice
Not some fixed entity to be obtained
It’s a continual unraveling
From Disempowering thought systems
We’re programmed to believe about ourselves
“I’m not good enough”
“I’m not worthy enough”
Little Me
Staring at my reflection
Looking at my dark complexion
Acne
Bacne
Marks
Scars
Middle school friends calling me Crunch Bar
I had a morning ritual
Fire to a needle
Sterilized
Stressed
Pressed
Poked
Popped
Puss
Every morning – a must
Symptoms of the disease to please
Little Me
Empty-pocketed closeted gay boy
Sitting in the pews of the “House of the Lord”
Adventist eyes laserbeam shaming vibes

Yo, whatever happened to unconditional love without judgement
Isn’t that ultimately the practice of what they preach?

The struggle is real when you find the concept of some “Big Man Upstairs” unviable
Too busy looking up for a glimpse
When you really should be looking within
To your power source
A consolidated generator of love
Energy energy energy
Bzz bzz bzz
Unseen by the naked eye
But ever-so-present
Felt by the body
FUN FACT:
If you yell at a cup of water, the molecules will form jagged shapes
If you give that cup some love, the molecules will form elegant shapes
Vibes
We are all connected
We all affect each other
profoundly

The struggle is real when you encounter Energy Vampires
Leeches that want to suck the light out of you
Party-Poopers
Kill-Joys
Negative-Nancies
Negative-Nathans
Upstagers
Post-Ups in the Club
Laserbeaming shaming vibes
Dark clouds comin’ out their mouths,
doom-gloomin my shine
Look
Here’s the situation
Your perception shapes your experience
Your perception shapes your reality
What your conscious mind deems true, your subconscious mind considers fact
Even if it’s wrong
A self-fulfilling prophecy
If you walk around believing you’re a worthless piece of shit
Then that is what you will be
You’re not
You’re a human being
Perfectly Imperfect
A work of art
A miracle
A collection of atoms
Made of star stuff
Space junk

LIFE IS SHORT.
The only moment is NOW
How do you want to spend your time?
We never know when we will expire

The Struggle Is Real now that social media is so saturated
Lucky me if I get 3 minutes of your attention span
Our televisions tell lies to our visions
Everyone has a relationship to perfectionist standards
Especially when looking in the mirror
Everyone lives in a skin sack of majestic tentacles
Underneath that modern suit of armor we call “Clothing”
We all want to know that we matter
Humble yourself and know
You do.
Add that to your mental blueprint

In my Blisscipline, I’m in a period of unlearning
Unlearning the disempowering thought systems I have internalized as I’ve developed
Letting go of anything that no longer serves me or my purpose
Throwing out anything that no longer brings me joy
I’m setting boundaries
Becoming a grown ass man
I’m breaking the “rules”
Masterfully misbehaving
All in play
‘Cause life’s a game
My inner child never died
He’s a warrior
He’s a sorcerer
He’s a muse
He’s a maker
He’s a badass
He’s a genius
He’s whoever the fuck he wants to be
He doesn’t judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree

EVOLUTION
I’m expanding
Awareness spreading
Becoming a global citizen
Sashaying through a threshold
Entering the Creative Age of Abundance
Redefining my life’s purpose
Updating my internal software
Clarifying my why so that my what can take on any form
Ask yourself:
What do I have to say?
What do I have to give?
Me…?
I want to help anyone I encounter become the greatest version of themselves
To help them realize that they have something to offer the world

The struggle is real when you’re breaking free from the hypnosis of fear
But I had an epiphany
I realized that a big part of my unhappiness came from not creating enough
Not expressing myself enough
Not externalizing the jolting force of an idea spark
Letting the fear of what other people think get in my way
You can’t please everyone
Nor should you
That’s smothering
What you can do
Is offer your true self
All the uniqueness
All the eccentricities
Be Authentically You
With ZERO apologies
I’m done questioning my worthiness
I’m done questioning my beauty
My talents
My creativity
My intellect
My fabulosity
I reclaim my power
I’m ‘woke!
I’m ‘woke honey!
I’m ‘woke boo-boo!
Don’t call me “big-headed” and separate yourself
Join me and reclaim your power too

Yes, the world is full of unknowns
Uncertainties
But we have power over how we navigate this world
It’s the discipline of bliss baby

I will not be put in a box
Fusion is the future
We are all one people
Mirrors of each other
A part of a collective consciousness
Classism is the new racism
Everyone matters
We don’t always have to be politically correct
Nor do we always have to find a way to feel offended
Do you boo
I’ll surely be doin’ me
With a vengeance

I was recently interviewed by Will Detlefsen for the UCSD Theatre & Dance Department Newsletter to talk about my upcoming studio project.

CHECK IT OUT!

When did you first know you wanted to be a performing artist?

Growing up, I always loved to perform and put on a show of some sort. I’ve been dancing ever since I could walk practically, and I started singing in 4th grade. I didn’t start acting until freshmen year of high school. I played Mistress Quickly in Merry Wives of Windsor for the Drama Teacher’s Association of South California (DTASC) Shakespeare Festival. Ever since that, things began to click and I knew I wanted to be a performing artist.

At Chatsworth High School, I performed in 7 mainstage theater productions, and performed/directed a combination of 11 DTASC Fall/Shakespeare Festival scenes. During my junior year, I was accepted into the Conservatory of the Arts hosted by Cal State LA where I trained in Advanced Acting and Advanced Singing. My hunger to hone my craft as an artist grew exponentially.

Here at UCSD, I’ve performed in 23 theatre & dance productions (both undergraduate and graduate), 9 of which I have also choreographed. I’ve been blessed enough to have performed in 8 professional theatre and dance productions (choreographing 4 of them) while attending university. The summer after my freshman year, I trained at the Summer Arts Steppenwolf West Acting Intensive Program at Cal State Fresno. During fall quarter of 2014, I studied abroad and trained at the British American Drama Academy (BADA) in London. The past 5 years have completely transformed my world. At 23 years old, I am able to introduce myself as an actor, singer, dancer, performing artist, choreographer/director, and international teaching artist. I love what I do with a vengeance. As I graduate and move forward, I aim to build my own multidisciplinary production company and establish myself as an international creative consultant as well.

Tell us a little bit about Dot to Dot: Data with a Soul.

For my final show as a UCSD undergraduate, I wanted to stretch beyond my comfort zone. I have always been incredibly interested in devised work – the challenge of creating a new story from a blank canvas; the opportunity to blueprint new forms of storytelling.

My first show here was Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, a graduate production directed by Kyle Donnelly. JerVae Dionne Anthony (a San Diegan singer-songwriter, visual artist, performing artist, and community agent of change) was in that production. Ever since I met this gorgeous women, I was completely enraptured. We’ve wanted to collaborate with one another, but did not have a chance to in the past 5 years – until now. She was in my first show here, and I thought it would be important for her to be in my last.

We have collaborated together in the pursuit of devising a story using Modern Mythopoeia (“myth-making”). The story is autobiographical in the sense that we draw upon our life experiences to create a new modern myth. At its core, the story is about me, a young professional student who has returned from an adventure abroad, facing reverse culture shock and a bit of a quarter-life crisis. The threshold of graduation is approaching. I want to become the greatest version of myself, but I’m afraid to cross that threshold into the unknown. I seek help from a Light Worker who takes me on a journey to get out of my own way and tap into my light (my source).

Through my training here, I have been fortunate enough to have mentors who have taught me this valuable lesson. Whether it was through advice, lessons, leading by example, or creating the framework for me to try it out for myself, they have helped me to truly believe in myself and my power.

You describe your work as “Physical Theatre.” How do you define the distinction between theatre and dance? Are they separate art forms or is it more complicated than that?

That is definitely a complicated question to answer. As a Theatre & Dance double major, I have spent the last 5 years grappling with the relationship between the two mediums. Most importantly, I have been trying to find the synthesis. On one level, one might find theatre and dance completely different mediums (i.e. theatre has a script with actors playing characters while dance has dancers who jeté across the marley floor). And that is one simplistic way of looking at it, but I find that they are much more interconnected. I believe that embodiment is what really synthesizes theatre, dance, and all performative mediums together. The ability to utilize pure belief in your self as a performative vessel to embody the world in which you want to create. We did this as children when we played pretend with no problem. Through the process of devising this show, I wanted us to be able to tap into that freedom. The power to take up space and allow ourselves to be seen. I deem this show a piece of “Physical Theatre” since Jervae and I are pursuing a story through primarily physical means.

One of our biggest commonalities is that we all have bodies. We have mirror neurons that fire both when performing an action and observing someone else perform that same action. Physical kinesthetic intelligence is deeply embedded within us all as a species. We are able to maximize upon that intelligence when we create and perform stories. There is a great deal of creative agency in storytelling. Through my experience here in the Theatre and Dance department, I have practiced the art of creating powerful metaphors through storytelling in multidisciplinary modes. The pure potentiality of storytelling is abundant.

What’s next for you after UCSD? Back to Europe?

Once I graduate, I will be finalizing the preparation of my Musical Theatre II students from the Dance & Co. Performing Arts Studio for the 6th Annual Summer Production. I’ve been an instructor at this amazing studio for the past 3 years.

I will be the Associate Musical Theater Teaching Artist for the La Jolla Playhouse’s Young Performer’s Workshop this summer. I first taught Movement for Actors in 2012 for this program, so I am really excited to be returning.

After that, I will be flying out to Germany again to be the assistant instructor for the Patricia Rincon Dance Collective Europe Teaching Tour for 2 weeks in Frankfurt & Heidelberg. It is an honor to be assisting for the second time. I can’t wait to return.

I am waiting to find out if I’ve been accepted into the Artistic Meditation Retreat in Thailand, hosted by Peace Revolution. I crave the opportunity to refresh my canvas for 2 weeks in Phu Ruea, Thailand.

There’s a possibility of collaborating with Jack Reuler again on a production for his Mixed Blood Theatre in Minneapolis. Looking forward to seeing where that goes.

I hope to move to New York by the end of the year, but we will see where the wind may take me.